When the Game is Over

When the Game is Over

When a chess player is defeated by his opponent, and “Check-mate” has been declared, the game is over. There is no point in continuing. You have lost and you had better accept defeat and put the board away. At least, that is true of a game of chess.

With the game of life, however, that is not necessarily so.

It was “game over” for the thief crucified next to Jesus.

He had lived the life of a criminal and was finally paying the ultimate price for it – his life. There was one thing, however, that he could do, and he did it:

And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” ⁴³ And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over for him any more.

It was “game over” for the woman caught in the act of adultery.

She was on the verge of being stoned to death according to the law. She couldn’t do anything about that; it was out of her hands. All she could do was kneel there in the dust  and wait  for the stones to end her life.

She waited…and waited… and waited….

And then…

                Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 – NASB)

The game wasn’t over any more.

Perhaps you have come to that place in your life where you are convinced there is no way out. Game over. Or you know someone else who has “lost the game.”

Is the game over for you?

Is the game over for them?

It need not be!

Jesus is the only one who can finally declare “game over,”

And he’s not going to do it if you call on him as the thief on the cross did.

The woman caught in adultery didn’t even ask for His help, but Jesus rescued her anyway.

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, ⁹ that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

The game of life is never over till you have been to Jesus.

Game Over?

(© Wednesday 22^nd April 2025 – by Christopher Shennan

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved… (Romans 10:8-9 – NASB)

You think the game is over now,

For the likes of you and me;

You think the scoreboard is final,

And you are lost in misery.

Your life has just come to nothing,

And you are throwing in the towel;

You’ve expended all your effort,

And the umpire’s shouted “Fowl!”

The voice of reason still tells you

There is “no way out” forever;

And the enemy still whispers,

“You’ll find an answer? No! Never!”

I’ve got news for you, my friend:

The games not over, not at all –

As long as you lean on Jesus,

Nothing again will make you fall.

When this life at last is over,

A new game of life will begin –

And you’ll live with Him forever –

A life that is free from all sin.

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Checkmate by Alan Light. Copyright. Used under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; please note the Disclaimer at this link. Also used under the Commons GNU Free Documentation License. No changes were made to this photo.

A Slave or Free?

A Slave or Free?

(Picture credits at end of post)

                For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:2 – NASB)

The 4th of July is the day Americans celebrate when they made a D.I, or Declaration of Independence from the king of England.

Just north of the land of my birth is a land that was known as Rhodesia. In my youth I was able to follow in the news what happened when the Prime Minister of that country, Ian Smith, made a UDI, or Unilateral declaration of Independence.

In the Scriptures we are to stand fast and declare our own independence from bondage under the Law, since Christ has made us free. In other words, we can, in a spiritual sense, make our own UDI, a Unilateral Declaration of Independence. In Christ, we are free from the law of sin and death; we are free from the bondage of the law:

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.  (Galatians 5:1 – NASB)

But there is another side to that coin.  From another perspective we can also make a UDD, a Unilateral Declaration of Dependence. For, though we have total freedom in Christ, we are also absolutely dependent upon Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for everything we need to live a Godly life, and for every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places.  It is a kind of paradox: In order to be independent, we need to be absolutely dependent upon God.

All of this prompts, in my mind at least, the question, “What in the world has happened to us to render us both slaves and freedmen? We can, at the same time, be independent and dependent?

You see, we’re operating in an entirely different realm here, in which opposite realities can be true at one and the same time. Under God’s love and mercy we can absolutely free, so long as we make ourselves slaves to the truth and mercy of God.

Declaration of Independence

© Sunday 2^nd November 2014 – by Christopher Shennan

For the law of the Spirit of life ^[a]in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:2 – NASB)

The lies of the enemy enslave us;

And declare we can never be set free,

That sin and death will always master us –

But that is just not good enough for me.

In Christ I declare I’m independent,

Of the ravages of sin and of death;

For I’ve made myself ever dependent

Upon the Christ Who has given me breath.

The law of the Spirit of Life is mine,

It has set me free from the law of sin;

God has given me the taste of new wine,

And by trusting Him fully I can win.

Christ did not die so sin could enslave me;

Instead I receive all that He gave me.

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“Dunlap broadside copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, LOC” by John Dunlap; text by Thomas Jefferson et al. – http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=rbc3&fileName=rbc0001_2004pe76546page.db. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dunlap_broadside_copy_of_the_United_States_Declaration_of_Independence,_LOC.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Dunlap_broadside_copy_of_the_United_States_Declaration_of_Independence,_LOC.jpg